Literary offensive against the “Merkel System”

Controversy has flared over the launch of Die Patin (The Godmother), a book about Angela Merkel’s rise to power by journalist and literature professor Gertrud Höhler, which went on sale on August 23, backed by a major advertising campaign. In its report on the literary offensive penned by the former advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Der Spiegeltakes the view that the author has given free rein to her personal hatred of the German Chancellor —

In this exercise in score settling, which features a fervent critique of the “M System", the 71-year-old, who is reputed to be the most prominent and ardent critic of the Chancellor, has attracted the attention of dozens of journalists.

The book claims that Germany is sliding towards a dictatorship while Merkel is discreetly establishing an autocratic regime and orchestrating the “decline of democracy”. Gertrud Höhler’s main thesis is that the Chancellor, who was formed by her experience of GDR socialism, is intent on sidelining Christian-democratic values.